Does anyone use excel to catalog their collection? How do you keep track of it all?

[astrid]

Hey everyone!

I am starting an excel file to keep track of all my plant children. I have the orchids separated by genera, and then I have several categories following to fill out for each plant:
-nickname
-date acquired
-date of last bloom
-bloom duration
-bloom season (sp, su, fa, wi)
-# flowers in last bloom
-# spikes last bloom
-date of last repotting
-who gave it to me/where I obtained it
-cost of the plant

and I am continuing on down with as many little data points as I can think of.
How do you keep track of your large collections (because I'm sure most of you have more than my paltry 23 plants, haha!). Are any of you nerdy enough to do it this way?
Do you keep library cards in boxes? Do you use the dewey decimal system? Do you keep track of it all mentally?

What other categories do you think I should add to help remind me about each plant I have?
I want to keep it all in excel so I don't have to think of it and so I don't forget!

Thanks, guys!

[Leafmite]

I just write down the names of the orchids in a text document. Most of mine are species orchids so the few I have that are hybrids, I make a note of whatever I can find of their ancestry. In another text file, I have notes on the care of anything that is new and unusual and interesting information that I have discovered about an orchid.

[snowflake311]

I just keep notes and update notes.

[Plodde]

I keep notes on my computer and just update them when something new happens

[RJSquirrel]

dont forget to make a line for 'DECEASED' ..you can fill in the blanks with a little tombstone

[sbrofio]

I have a folder on pc with PDF files. In there there is the Main file, with the alphabetical list of the plants I have.
Every name is an ipertextual link to the single plant file, with pics and details about it. (engineers at work )

In excel I just keep the wish list, with links to the shop, pics, growing info (a lot of them are OB posts ). Every time I can take one of the wishlist, I change the color of the name in blue.

[ddivey36]

Astrid- PM me and I will send you my spreadsheet.

[Paphluvr]

Looks like you've got the bases covered with your catagories. When I was still using a laptop (pre I- pad days) I used an Exel spreadsheet for my Paphs. The only other thing I had on my sheet was temp preference (W-I-C) and any rest periods.

[jmmehler]

I've wrestled with the spread sheet, even added links to photos. I've also downloaded cattleya Log4 (it's free to try with up to 10 orchids). Truth be told, it becomes a major pain in the butt.

By far, the best system I've seen, is one developed by my buddy, Ronnie B. who has over 450 thriving orchids.

Ronnie started out with a spiral notebook. Let's assume the first one (after over 15 years there are 7 or 8) is red. He now dedicates two pages for each orchid. The first is tagged R001 (Red notebook orchid # 1). He writes down all the info upon aquiring the orchid, date, vendor, price, size, etc. and he tags the orchid with the same ID #. He then keeps the most meticulous info, amount of light, temperature preferences, spikes, blooms, repotting, medium... Just volumes of data. He carries the notebooks into his greenhouse and updates what he sees everyday.

Unless you are using a tablet, it just does not seem feasible to use a computer. I still use the spreadsheet, but only to log names, dates, and price info. I tend to document blooming and repotting info, on my tags, and pots. I should keep track of all the other factors, but I don't.

[astrid]

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

dont forget to make a line for 'DECEASED' ..you can fill in the blanks with a little tombstone

oh how sad!! haha
I have 3 or 4 now, and one on the way to dying. Boo! I think it has some sort of bacteria or rotting problem.

---------- Post added at 09:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:42 AM ----------

Originally Posted by jmmehler

I've wrestled with the spread sheet, even added links to photos. I've also downloaded cattleya Log4 (it's free to try with up to 10 orchids). Truth be told, it becomes a major pain in the butt.

By far, the best system I've seen, is one developed by my buddy, Ronnie B. who has over 450 thriving orchids.

...

Unless you are using a tablet, it just does not seem feasible to use a computer. I still use the spreadsheet, but only to log names, dates, and price info. I tend to document blooming and repotting info, on my tags, and pots. I should keep track of all the other factors, but I don't.

I have a small enough collection that I can just look around the room while sitting down and enter everybody in! Easy enough with only 20 something plants!

And for me, well, excel is my best friend ever! I am a chemistry major so we're always dabbling in excel, and I keep track of my finances and schoolwork in excel, too. I wanna marry excel, basically.

Thanks for your advice, too. I like Ronnie's way of keeping track.